The senior chief of the Dedza District in Malawi, Theresa Kachindamoto, has ordered her 50 sub-chiefs sign an agreement to end and annul all child marriages in the Dedza district. Malawi outlawed child marriage in 2015; however, the practice has continued under customary law with parental consent. Throughout the country, the rate of marriages for girls under age eighteen is nearly 50%. Child marriages often force girls out of schools to support families or raise children, leaving them financially dependent on spouses.Over the past three years, Chief Kachindamoto’s actions have led to the annulment of nearly 850 child marriages. After the marriages are dissolved, the children, mostly girls, are sent back to school. Chief Kachindamoto and her supporters personally fund families who cannot pay for the girls’ education.

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